Beat the Guru: AFL Week 13
Adam Markowitz
Friday June 25, 2010
Maybe the 13th week of the Arena Football season will be a lucky one for me for a change. I mentioned that I was playing a road game having written last week's column waiting for my flight out of town in Orlando's glorious airport... Unfortunately, I play on the road about as well as a Sparky McEwen coached team, going just 3-4 against the spread.
Unfortunately for the rest of Guru world, not many were much better. Props to Talons100 for being the only person to post a winning record on the week at 4-3.
Disclaimer: This information should be used for entertainment purposes only. Should you choose to actually lay real money on these games, that’s purely your choice, and neither I nor ArenaFan are responsible. Lines courtesy of Bookmaker Sportsbook as of Friday morning.
Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings (+16) @ Tampa Bay Storm - If they're not playing against the artists formerly known as the Desperados, the Battle Wings are in a heck of a lot of trouble. They were blown out of the water by four tuddies last week at Arizona, which isn't making HC Jon Norris look all that great right now. Geez, do they miss Raymond Philyaw... As for the Storm, it just has to be a good feeling to be back at home for just the second time since May 7th. By the way, does anyone realize that HC Tim Marcum's group has won five straight games? It'll be six tonight, but not by enough to get in front of this number.
Guru's Pick: Storm Troopers by just a dozen
Arizona Rattlers (+5.5) @ Jacksonville Sharks - Okay Jacksonville, what the heck was up with that performance last week in Orlando? I mean, I know that QB Aaron Garcia doesn't have the greatest history in the world against the Preds, but you can't march into the Jungle and lose by three tuddies when your divisional rivals were just in town a few weeks before and blew out the hosts. 'Zona is hot, but it is only hot because it has been in the desert. It's not much cooler in the Sunshine State, but the Rats will be put on ice on Saturday.
Guru's Pick: Shark Attack by 10
Cleveland Gladiators (+1.5) @ Tulsa Talons - The Glads absolutely put a beat down on Iowa at home last week. Do you know that this is already this team's seventh road game and that it is done with the roadie slate next week in Orlando? Meanwhile, the Talons don't look that great at home lately, having only beaten one legitimate team over the course of the whole season there (Tampa Bay). Something tells us that this game might not be close.
Guru's Pick: Not-Such-An-Upset Special, Happy Glads by 16
Dallas Vigilantes (+7) @ Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz - The only thing that would make this game worse would be if the game was in Dallas... Sparky vs. the biggest disgrace in the AFL...
Guru's Pick: Sparky and the Ground Munchers by 10
Orlando Predators (+7) @ Chicago Rush - Orlando and Chicago posted the two most impressive victories last week. The Preds absolutely put a beat down on Jacksonville in the Jungle, while the boys from the Windy City ran over Milwaukee with a team full of reserves. Orlando's history in Chicago is about as good as Aaron Garcia's history in the Jungle. This should be a good one, but the Windy City should prevail.
Guru's Pick: Rush by 8
Spokane Shock (+3) @ Milwaukee Iron - Best game of the week. Back in Week 1, QB Chris Greisen and the Iron threw all over the Shock up in Spokane and walked out with a 74-62 victory. Is it payback time? We tend to believe that Spokane has the better team in this matchup, as we aren't as convinced that the Iron are as strong as they used to be. QB Kyle Rowley will probably do his best Chris Greisen impression. The first team to 80 may win.
Guru's Pick: The Spoken Word by 6
Utah Blaze (+14) @ Iowa Barnstormers - Do I have to? I'm tired of getting burned by the Blaze, but this week, I'm going to have the fire department on speed dial for the trek to Iowa.
Guru's Pick: Iowa by just 3
Recap
Bossier-Shreveport +16
Jacksonville -5.5
Cleveland +1.5
Oklahoma City -7
Chicago -7
Spokane +3
Utah +14
Jacksonville -5.5
Cleveland +1.5
Oklahoma City -7
Chicago -7
Spokane +3
Utah +14
Beat the Guru's Top 10 (Must have 40 games selected to qualify)
|
YowDawg
|
33
|
23
|
58.93%
|
|
fluence21
|
28
|
22
|
56.00%
|
|
Thrash13
|
23
|
19
|
54.76%
|
|
strade32
|
22
|
19
|
53.66%
|
|
Talons100
|
35
|
31
|
53.03%
|
|
AndyLopusnak
|
39
|
38
|
50.65%
|
|
AFLGuru
|
38
|
39
|
49.35%
|
|
dthomas4233
|
30
|
32
|
48.39%
|
|
Rush43
|
19
|
23
|
45.24%
|
|
kryscio23
|
31
|
38
|
44.93%
|
See how well you can do against the Guru. Make your picks here. Winners will be recognized weekly.
Adam Markowitz is an accountant living in Orlando. Adam is an old school AFLer, having followed the AFL since 1991. He attended or covered well over 200 games, including 17 ArenaBowls. Adam worked for the Arena Football League for two years as a columnist and historian before retiring in 2017 when the 50-yard indoor war left the Sunshine State. Adam still muses about the AFL on ArenaFan from time to time, and you can follow him on Twitter @adammarkowitzea.
